Heskey arrives in Australia

Newcastle Jets marquee signing Emile Heskey arrived at Sydney Airport this morning and said he's on the hunt for silverware.

Newcastle Jets marquee signing Emile Heskey arrived at Sydney Airport this morning and said he's on the hunt for silverware.

Heskey was greeted by Jets CEO Robbie Middleby and friend Michael Bridges, while a large contingent of media and some excited Jets fans were also in attendance at the International Arrivals Terminal.

“It was a bit of a long flight, but I-m finally here and I-m raring to go,” Heskey said.

“I-ve heard a lot about my teammates… Bridgey has told me quite a bit about the league and the team.

“I spoke to Robbie Fowler and he-s told me a lot about the league and everything as well.

“I-m just raring to go really. I-m looking forward to meeting the lads, having a bit of a training run with them and seeing how things go.”

Heskey has been keeping fit by training with Premier League Club Wigan in the UK and he said he was hopeful of being ready for the Jets' Round 1 clash with Adelaide United at Hunter Stadium on October 7.

“Training on your own is different to actually having match fitness. In the UK I-ve only had 45 minutes in a training game, so I-ll need some games, but I-ll soon get that fitness,” he said.

“We-ll have to see how training goes because I heard it-s a bit hot out here. It-s different to Manchester where it-s raining everyday. I should be OK, fingers crossed.”

Heskey said he was also attracted by the way the Jets had strong links to the local community.

“When Robbie flew that long flight over to see me and basically sell the club to me, it was a nice gesture from them,” he said.

“Basically they just told me it was a family club. I started at Leicester and it was a family run club. Everyone knows everyone, everyone works hard for each other and he just said it-s the same thing (in Newcastle).

“It-s like going back to the beginning, but somewhere else.”

The former Liverpool striker already has a number of winner-s medals in his trophy cabinet and he admitted that he would like to add an A-League Championship to the collection.

“I-ll just take it game by game and see how it goes. I want to do really well and hit the ground running,” he said.

“I-ve always looked at silverware. Wherever I-ve gone I-ve tried to win silverware. It-s something I came into the game at a young age wanting to do, so why not (in Newcastle).”